Lycans and Legends

Chapter 30: The End is the Beginning

The moment we stepped into the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, black spots appeared before my eyes.

“Clemeny,” Harper called, rushing to me.

Agent Rose exhaled with relief, but then I saw her eyes narrow as she studied me.

I handed the pieces of the artifact to Harper. “Here. Melwas bashed me on the head with a rock, I think…” I said, unable to form words as the throbbing intensified. My vision grew dim as the black dots danced.

“Harper,” Agent Rose said then moved toward me.

The world around me began to spin. “I think I’m going to—”

But before I could say the word faint, everything went black.

* * *

I could hear Harper humming even before I opened my eyes. I was lying somewhere warm and soft. Despite this fact, my head ached terribly.

Groaning, I opened my eyes to be greeted by the soft morning light. I moved to sit up.

“Take it easy,” Harper said, setting aside the pile of papers she was working on. She moved to my bedside. “Don’t try to get up.”

“Hell’s bells,” I muttered, reaching to touch the back of my head.

Harper chuckled softly. “There is a very nasty lump back there.”

“Melwas,” I muttered.

“Well, according to Rapunzel, you cut off his head. So I guess the two of you are even.”

“Wait, Rapunzel said I cut off his head?”

“Um, yeah. That’s what she said. Wait, are you saying—”

“Where am I?” I asked.

“Abbey House,” a familiar, masculine voice called from the doorway.

Lionheart.

“Hey,” I said softly.

He smiled at me. “Welcome back.”

Harper looked from Lionheart to me and back again. She smiled. “All right. Well, I need to finish this paperwork anyway. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

“Harper, where is Rapunzel?” I asked.

“Gone. She left with the Pellinores. An agency airship took them back to Willowbrook Park. They said you should come visit when you feel better.”

“And Agent Rose?”

“Gone too. Before dawn. Her friend with her.”

I nodded.

Harper gave me a little wave, gathered up her things, then slipped out the door.

Lionheart crossed the room and sat down on my bedside. He took my hand.

“When did you get here?” I asked.

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday? How long have I been out?”

“Two days. Harper sent a messenger to London to let me know you’d been injured. Apparently, Mister Reeves took everyone in after whatever mess occurred in the ruins ended.”

“What about the packs?”

“The Templars have reminded everyone that we are still in charge. The Red Capes are busy cleaning up the Dark Districts; Shadow Watch is helping. Everything is settled. Except for the fact that you’ve been unconscious and are sporting a fresh batch of stitches,” he said, pointing to my face.

So distracted by the ache in my head, I hadn’t even noticed the smarting pain just above my good eye.

“Wonderful. At least I’ll be symmetrical. But I’m alive. And I got the artifact back. Harper has it.”

“Except that,” Lionheart said, pointing to my neck. I looked down to see I was still wearing the faerie gemstone.

“Ahh. Yes. That requires a conversation with Her Majesty.”

“Which can wait until you’re recovered, no matter if you’re the new director of the Red Capes or not. Mister Reeves said you can stay here and rest as long as you like.”

“That’s very kind of him—wait, how do you know I’m the new director?”

“Grand-mère told me.”

“Grand-mère?”

Lionheart chuckled. “You don’t think I’d let her sit at home worrying about you. I brought her with me.”

“You brought Grand-mère here?”

“Yes.”

“As in, you drove her all the way out here?”

“So I did.”

I laughed, but the sound of my own voice made me wince, my head banging. “Oh, Richard. I don’t know what to say.”

“No matter. I have been given some specific advice on what I should be saying and doing. I say, Clemeny, if the Red Capes are in need of an interrogator, you need look no further than your grandmother. I felt almost undone when she was finished with me.”

I laughed. “And what did Grand-mère decide you should be saying and doing?”

Lionheart smirked. “That is between Grand-mère and me.”

The door to the bedroom banged wide open. The noise was so loud that I suppressed a shudder.

“Clemeny!” Jericho yelled, rushing to me. Pushing Lionheart aside, the boy wrapped his arms around me. “Agent Harper said you were awake.”

“Easy, Jericho. Clemeny is still in pain.”

“It’s all right,” I said, hugging the boy to me. The feel of his little body in my arms filled me with a sense of peace. I sighed.

Jericho let me go. “They said you passed out. That’s a terrible cut on your eye. Did a werewolf do that?”

I shook my head. “A faerie.”

Jericho scrunched up his face as he thought it over. “Where is this faerie?” he asked then, his voice sounding decidedly dark and wolf-like.

“Dealt with,” I replied. “So you don’t need to worry.” I turned to Richard. “And just wait until I tell you how.”

Richard raised an eyebrow at me.

“Oh my Clemeny, my Clemeny. Oranges and lemons, every time you go off to work, I worry I’ll find you like this. And here you are all battered and bruised again,” Grand-mère began before she even entered the room. Her face was a mix of sincere worry and annoyance. But she stopped in the doorway.

“Grand-mère,” I said softly, smiling at her.

Grand-mère looked from Richard, to Jericho, to me. The expression on her face softened, and she smiled serenely.

“Well, my girl,” she said. I was surprised to see her eyes looking watery.

“Grand-mère?”

She smiled then wiped a stray tear from her eye. “I’ll ring for tea,” she said then turned and headed back down the hallway.

Jericho kissed me on the cheek then jumped up. “May I ask Grand-mère to bring biscuits too?”

I nodded. “Go tell her.”

Jericho placed one more quick kiss on my cheek then ran off behind Grand-mère.

Richard took his place on my bedside once more. He stared at me for a long time then pulled me into a deep embrace.

“I love you,” he whispered in my ear.

“I love you too.”

Despite all the odds, I had fallen madly, deeply in love with the big bad wolf.

And he was everything to me.

* * *

Two days later, once I was back on my feet, I met Mister Reeves to say goodbye once more. Grand-mère was chatting with Jericho as the pair climbed into the back seat of the steamauto. I hadn’t heard what the boy had said, but Grand-mère laughed loudly, the sound of her happy voice echoing across the gardens.

“I hope we meet again very soon,” Mister Reeves told me, reaching out to shake my hand. “But under better circumstances next time.”

I nodded. “Thank you for your hospitality once more.”

“Of course.”

“The bags are settled. I gave the rest to Agent Harper to take with her on the airship. Otherwise, I believe we’re ready,” Lionheart told me.

I inclined my head to Mister Reeves then turned to get into the steamauto. I paused one last time to look out at the ruins. It was early morning. The sunrise cast shades of pink and gold on the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. The vision was lovely, but the longer I looked, the more the image began to waver. Once more, I spotted the standing stones in Avalon, a place of legend.

Clemeny.

Clemeny Louvel.

I shook my head. “Not today,” I answered the voice on the wind. “Not yet.” Maybe never. I turned my gaze away from the stones and back to this world. Opening the door of the auto, I smiled at the little lycan sitting in the back seat. “Have everything you need?” I asked him.

Grinning, Jericho nodded. “Biscuits. Grand-mère. Sir Richard. You. Yes, I have everything I need.”

I chuckled then slid inside. When I closed the door, I caught Richard’s reflection in the mirror. “So do I,” I whispered softly. “So do I.”